Sensitive and effective method with 96-well plate for determination of levamlodipine in human plasma using LC-MS/MS.

we developed an effective protein precipitation method for determination of levamlodipine in human plasma using LC-MS/MS. Sample extraction was carried out by using liquid-liquid extraction in 96-well plate format. (S)-Amlodipine-d4 was used as internal standard (IS). The chromatographic separation was achieved using Philomen Chiral MX (2) column (3 µm, 2.1 × 100 mm). Mobile phase A was comprised of Acetonitrile (ACN), Mono ethanol amine (MEA) and Iso-Propyl alcohol (IPA) (1000:1:10, v/v/v), Mobile phase B was IPA-ACN (2:1, v/v). The flow rate was 0.4 mL/min. The total run time of each sample was 4.0 min with gradient elution. LC-MS/MS spectra were generated in positive ion mode, and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) was used to detect the following transitions: m/z 409.20 â†’ 238.15 for levamlodipine and 415.25 â†’ 240.20 for (S)-Amlodipine-d4 (the IS). The method was linear from 50 to 10000 pg/mL（R2＝0.9988489）,and the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 50 pg/mL. This method was applied to a bioequivalence study of levamlodipine.

Determination of lacidipine in human plasma by LC-MS/MS: Application in a bioequivalence study
.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to conduct a sensitive, simple, and reliable liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the quantification of lacidipine in human plasma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this method, the plasma samples were extracted from human plasma using methanol as the precipitant and nisoldipine as internal standard (IS). The analytes were separated on a Phenomenex Luna C18 column (150 mm × 2.0 mm, 3 µm) at 40 °C using isocratic mobile phase consisting of 0.2% formic acid-methanol (13 : 87, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The tandem mass detection was constructed on a triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source operating in positive-ion mode. The selected reaction monitoring of transitions was m/z 456.2 → 354.2 for lacidipine and m/z 389.2 → 315.0 for IS, respectively. Then, the established method was applied in a bioequivalence study comparing lacidipine dispersible tablet with commercial tablet in 20 healthy Chinese subjects. RESULTS: The calibration curve exhibited great linearity in the range of 0.10 - 10.00 ng/mL (r2 = 0.999). The intraday and interday precision and accuracy met the acceptance criteria, and no matrix effect was found. In addition, the 90% confidence intervals for the test/reference ratio of Cmax, AUC0-24, and AUC0-∞ fell within the bioequivalence acceptance criteria (80 - 125%). CONCLUSION: The method is suitable for quantification of lacidipine in human plasma. Moreover, the two preparations are bioequivalent.
.

Enantioselective determination of R-(-)-manidipine and S-(+)-manidipine in human plasma by a sensitive and selective chiral LC-MS/MS assay.

A sensitive and selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) assay method has been developed and validated for the enantioselective determination of manidipine in human plasma using isotope-labeled compounds as internal standards. After solid-phase extraction, R-(-)-manidipine and S-(+)-manidipine were chromatographed on a Chiralpack IC-3 C18 column using a isocratic mobile phase composed of 2 mm ammonium bicarbonate and acetonitrile (15:85, v/v). The precursor ion to product ion transitions for the enantiomers and internal standards were monitored in the multiple reaction monitoring and positive ionization mode using an API-4000 mass spectrometer. The method was linear over the concentration range of 0.05-10.2 ng/mL for both enantiomers. The precision and accuracy results over five concentration levels in five different batches were well within the acceptance limits. The mean extraction recovery was >80% for both enantiomers. A variety of stability tests were executed in plasma and in neat samples, which complies with the FDA guidelines. After complete validation, the method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of a manidipine 20 mg oral dose in 10 healthy South India subjects under fasting conditions. The assay reproducibility is shown through incurred samples reanalysis of 20 subject plasma samples.

A rapid and sensitive LC-MS/MS method for determination of lercanidipine in human plasma and its application in a bioequivalence study in Chinese healthy volunteers.

A rapid and highly sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the determination of lercanidipine (LER) in human plasma. The plasma sample was deproteinized with methanol after addition of diazepam (internal standard, IS) and separated on a 38°C Hedera ODS-2 analytical column with a mobile phase of methanol and 5mM ammonium acetate buffer solution containing 0.1% formic acid at an isocratic flow rate of 400µL/min. The detection was performed on an API 4000 tandem mass spectrometer coupled with electrospray ionization (ESI) source in positive ESI mode. Quantification was conducted by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) of the transitions of m/z 612.2→280.2 for LER and m/z 285.1→193.1 for IS, respectively. The method exhibited high sensitivity (LLOQ of 0.015ng/mL) and good linearity over the concentration range of 0.015-8.0ng/mL. No matrix effect and carry-over effect were observed. The values on both the occasions (intra- and inter-day) were all within 15% at three concentration levels. This robust method was successfully applied in a bioequivalence study to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of LER in 59 healthy male Chinese volunteers after a single oral administration of 10mg LER.

Preparation and in vitro/in vivo Evaluation of Lacidipine by Adsorption onto Fumed Silica Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide.

The aim of this study was to design a silica-supported solid dispersion of lacidipine (LCDP) to enhance the dissolution rate and oral absorption using supercritical CO2 (scCO2) as a solvent. The formulation was characterized using differential scanning calorimetry, powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. In the dissolution test, LCDP-scCO2 formulation showed a significantly enhanced dissolution compared with LCDPsilica physical mixture and a faster dissolution rate than Lacipil® under different dissolution conditions. In an in vivo test, the area under concentration-time curve and Cmax of LCDP-scCO2 formulation was 9.23 and 23.78 fold greater than LCDP-silica physical mixture (1:15, w/w), respectively, whereas the corresponding values were 1.92 and 2.80 fold greater than Lacipil®, respectively. Our results showed that the solid dispersion prepared by supercritical fluids technology is a feasible method to enhance the oral bioavailability of LCDP.

Lacidipine self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system for the enhancement of oral bioavailability.

Low bioavailability of Lacidipine (LD), an calcium channel blocker pose many challenges in the treatment of hypertension. The objective of this study was to formulate and characterize LD self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) to improve oral bioavailability of the drug. Formulations were evaluated for globule size, surface morphology, emulsification time, cloud point, drug content, in vitro dissolution, ex vivo permeation, stability and oral bioavailability studies. Captex 810D, TPGS, Tween-60, Transcutol P and PEG 400 was selected based on the solubility study results. The optimized SNEDDS readily gets nanoemulsified at 37 °C with droplet size of 41 nm when mixed with 200 times of its water. Transmission electron microscope photographs confirmed the spherical shape of the globules. In vitro dissolution of SNEDDS showed more than 80% of drug release within 15 min. The ex vivo permeation of LD from SNEDDS is 4.8- and 9-fold higher compared to pure drug in the absence and presence of verapamil respectively. The stability study of the SNEDDS confirmed no environmental effect on the physical nature and drug content. Oral bioavailability of SNEDDS is 2.5 times higher than marketed tablet. The results suggest that, the SNEDDS formulation can be used as a possible alternative for the traditional oral formulations of LD to improve its oral bioavailability.

Simple and effective HPLC method development and its validation for Clindipine in human drug free plasma.

Simple and effective high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for estimation of Clindipine in drug free human drug free blank plasma. The internal standard used as Nifidipine (IS). The current method was used protein precipitating extraction of Clindipine from blank plasma. Separation was achieved on reversed-phase c18 column (25cm × 4.6mm, 5µ) and the detection was monitored by UV detector at 260 nm. The optimized mobile phase was used acetonitrile: 5mM potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (pH 4.5), in the ratio of 60:40% v/v at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. This linearity was achieved in this method range of 10.0-125.0 ng/ml with regression coefficient range is 0.99. The present method is suitable in terms of precise, accurate and specific during the study. The simplicity of the method allows for application in laboratories that lack sophisticated analytical instruments such as LC-MS/MS or GC-MS/MS that are complicated, costly and time consuming rather than a simple HPLC-UV method. The present method was successfully applied for pharmacokinetic studies.

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric assay for the antihypertensive agent azelnidipine in human plasma with application to clinical pharmacokinetics studies.

A robust and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric (HPLC-MS/MS) assay for the high-throughput quantification of the antihypertensive drug azelnidipine in human plasma was developed and validated following bioanalytical validation guidelines. Azelnidipine and internal standard (IS), telmisartan, were extracted from human plasma by precipitation protein and separated on a C18 column using acetonitrile-methanol-ammonium formate with 0.1% formic acid as mobile phase. Detection was performed on a turbo-spray ionization source (ESI) and mass spectrometric positive multiple reaction monitoring mode (+MRM) using the respective transitions m/z 583.3 → 167.2 for azelnidipine and m/z 515.3 → 497.2 for IS. The method has a wide analytical measuring range from 0.0125 to 25 ng/mL. For the lowest limit of quantitation, low, medium and high quality controls, intra- and interassay precisions (relative standard deviation) were 3.30-7.01% and 1.78-8.09%, respectively. The drug was sufficiently stable under all relevant analytical conditions. The main metabolite of azelnidipine, M-1 (aromatized form), was monitored semiquantitatively using the typical transition m/z 581.3 → 167.2. Finally, the method was successfully applied to a clinical pharmacokinetic study in human after a single oral administration of azelnidipine 8 mg. The assay meets criteria for the analysis of samples from large research trials.

Determination of efonidipine in human plasma by LC-MS/MS for pharmacokinetic applications.

Efonidipine hydrochloride is a new generation dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker designed to inhibit both T-type and L-type calcium channels. For the first time, a simple and robust LC-MS/MS method was developed for the determination of efonidipine in human plasma over the range of 0.100-20.0ng/mL. Efonidipine was extracted from plasma by an LLE procedure, separated by LC and detected by MS/MS in positive mode ESI. The method was validated for selectivity, carryover, sensitivity, extraction recovery, matrix effects, linearity, accuracy and precision, dilution integrity and stability studies. The calibration curves were linear over 0.100-20.0ng/mL (r≥0.9980). The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was established at 0.100ng/mL. Intra- and inter-day precisions (LLOQ, low-QC, mid-QC, high-QC and ultra-high QC) were less than 12.5% in terms of relative standard deviation (RSD), and accuracies were between -5.0% and 5.0% in terms of relative error (RE). Matrix effect was acceptable (105.6-110.2%) and extraction recovery was reproducible (85.8-91.3%, RSD≤10.0%). Efonidipine was stable in the investigated conditions. The method was applied to the pharmacokinetics of efonidipine in human subject.

Gastroretentive pulsatile release tablets of lercanidipine HCl: development, statistical optimization, and in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

The present study was aimed at the development of gastroretentive floating pulsatile release tablets (FPRTs) of lercanidipine HCl to enhance the bioavailability and treat early morning surge in blood pressure. Immediate release core tablets containing lercanidipine HCl were prepared and optimized core tablets were compression-coated using buoyant layer containing polyethylene oxide (PEO) WSR coagulant, sodium bicarbonate, and directly compressible lactose. FPRTs were evaluated for various in vitro physicochemical parameters, drug-excipient compatibility, buoyancy, swelling, and release studies. The optimized FPRTs were tested in vivo in New Zealand white rabbits for buoyancy and pharmacokinetics. DoE optimization of data revealed FPRTs containing PEO (20% w/w) with coat weight 480 mg were promising systems exhibiting good floating behavior and lag time in drug release. Abdominal X-ray imaging of rabbits after oral administration of the tablets, confirmed the floating behavior and lag time. A quadratic model was suggested for release at 7th and 12th h and a linear model was suggested for release lag time. The FPRT formulation improved pharmacokinetic parameters compared to immediate release tablet formulation in terms of extent of absorption in rabbits. As the formulation showed delay in drug release both in vitro and in vivo, nighttime administration could be beneficial to reduce the cardiovascular complications due to early morning surge in blood pressure.

Continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration along with charcoal hemoperfusion for the management of life-threatening lercanidipine and amlodipine overdose.

Overdose with calcium channel blockers is uncommon, but is associated with high mortality. The management includes fluid resuscitation, calcium gluconate, glucagon, vasopressors, and high-dose insulin-euglycemia therapy. We describe a rare case of massive overdose of lercanidipine with shock, refractory to conventional therapies and multi-organ failure. Charcoal hemoperfusion with continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration was then used successfully and the patient showed remarkable recovery.

Evaluation of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic drug interactions between cilnidipine and valsartan, in healthy volunteers.

PURPOSE: Although cilnidipine and valsartan are widely coadministered to patients with hypertension, their drug-drug interaction potential has not been investigated. This study compared the pharmacokinetic (PK), pharmacodynamic (PD), and tolerability profiles of cilnidipine and valsartan, both alone and in combination, in healthy male subjects. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-four subjects, enrolled into an open-label, single-dose, three-treatment, three-period crossover study, randomly received cilnidipine (10 mg), valsartan (160 mg), or both according to one of six sequences. Blood samples were collected at baseline and up to 24 hours after drug administration in each period. Plasma concentrations of cilnidipine and valsartan were determined by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to the last measurable time (AUC(last)) were estimated using a noncompartmental method. Tolerability was evaluated by assessing adverse events (AEs), vital signs, electrocardiograms, and clinical laboratory tests. Blood pressure was also measured for PD assessment. RESULTS: A total of 51 subjects completed the study. The PK profile of cilnidipine was not significantly affected by coadministered valsartan; the geometric mean ratio and 90% confidence interval (90% CI) of AUC(last) for cilnidipine with and without valsartan was 1.04 (0.98-1.10). Likewise, cilnidipine did not affect the PK of valsartan; the geometric mean ratio (90% CI) of AUC(last) for valsartan with and without cilnidipine was 0.94 (0.83-1.07). Coadministration of cilnidipine and valsartan reduced blood pressure in an additive way. No serious AEs were reported, and both cilnidipine and valsartan were well tolerated. CONCLUSION: Coadministered cilnidipine and valsartan do not cause a significant PK or PD interaction, and they are well tolerated.

Simultaneous determination of clevidipine and its primary metabolite in dog plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: Application to pharmacokinetic study.

A simple and rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of clevidipine and its primary metabolite H152/81 in dog plasma after protein precipitation with acetonitrile using felodipine as the internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was performed on a XB C18 column (2.1mm×50mm, 3.5µm) under isocratic conditions with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 20mM ammonium acetate buffer (pH 7.0) (40:60, v/v) at the flow rate of 0.3ml/min. The run time was 5.5min. Mass spectrometric analysis was performed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operated in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with the transitions of m/z 473.0→338.2 for clevidipine, m/z 356.1→324.0 for H152/81 and m/z 383.9→338.2 for the IS. The method was fully validated in terms of selectivity, linearity, lower limit of quantification (LLOQ), accuracy, precision, stability, matrix effect and recovery over a concentration range of 0.15-200ng/ml for clevidipine and 10-2000ng/ml for H152/81, respectively. The analytical method was applied to support a pharmacokinetic study of simultaneous determination of clevidipine and H152/81 in ten healthy beagle dogs.

Design of lipotomes as a novel dual functioning nanocarrier for bioavailability enhancement of lacidipine: in-vitro and in-vivo characterization.

Lipotomes were designed to enhance lacidipine's oral bioavailability by improving its solubility and enhancing the oral lymphatic uptake. Lipotomes were prepared using cetyl alcohol and Tween(®) 80 using a thin film hydration technique. Cetyl alcohol was chosen for imparting a lipophilic environment that would enforce the lymphatic uptake while Tween(®) 80 would improve drug solubility within the lipotomes. Lipotomes were characterized by analyzing their particle size, solubilization efficiency and in-vitro drug release. Central composite design was applied to statistically optimize the formulations using Design-Expert(®) software. The optimum formula (OLT) was made up of excipients:drug ratio of 36.59:1 w/w and Tween(®) 80:cetyl alcohol ratio of 4:1 w/w. OLT was lyophilized and filled into Eudragit(®) L100 enteric coated capsules. Mannitol (10% w/v) was the ideal cryoprotectant to retain the physicochemical characteristics of the OLT formulation after lyophilization. In conclusion, the selected lyophilized formula (L3) succeeded in enhancing drug's oral bioavailability in human volunteers compared to the commercial product confirming the success of lipotomes as a novel oral nanocarrier for insoluble drugs having extensive first pass metabolism.

Flow injection chemiluminescence determination of lercanidipine based on N-chlorosuccinimide-eosin Y post-chemiluminescence reaction.

A novel post-chemiluminescence (PCL) reaction was discovered when lercanidipine was injected into the CL reaction mixture of N-chlorosuccinimide with alkaline eosin Y in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), where eosin Y was used as the CL reagent and CTAB as the surfactant. Based on this observation, a simple and highly sensitive PCL method combined with a flow injection (FI) technique was developed for the assay of lercanidipine. Under optimum conditions, the CL signal was linearly related to the concentration of lercanidipine in the range 7.0 × 10(-10) to 3.0 × 10(-6) g/mL with a detection limit of 2.3 × 10(-10) g/mL (3σ). The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 2.1% for 1.0 × 10(-8) g/mL lercanidipine (n = 13). The proposed method had been applied to the estimation of lercanidipine in tablets and human serum samples with satisfactory results. The possible CL mechanism is also discussed briefly.

Development of a supercritical fluid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of lacidipine in beagle dog plasma and its application to a bioavailability study.

A simple, novel, rapid and sensitive supercritical fluid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (SFC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of lacidipine in beagle dog plasma with nimodipine as internal standard. The method involved a simple liquid-liquid extraction method with tert-butyl methyl ether. The analytes were analyzed on an Acquity UPC(2) with a HSS C18 SB column (3mm×100mm, 1.8µm) set at 50°C. The mobile phase was carbon dioxide (≥99.99%) and methanol (92:8, v/v) at a flow rate of 2ml/min, the compensation solvent was methanol with 2% formic acid at a flow rate of 0.2ml/min and a total analysis time of 1.5min for each sample. The multiple reaction-monitoring mode was used for quantification of ion transitions at m/z 473.32→354.10 and 419.00→343.10 for lacidipine and internal standard, respectively. The linearity range of proposed method was 0.10-100ng/ml) (r(2)≥0.9990). The intra- and inter-day precision values were less than 15% and accuracy was from -0.83% to 3.27% at all quality control levels. The proposed method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of lacidipine in beagle dogs.

LC-MS/MS determination and pharmacokinetic study of lacidipine in human plasma.

A robust, specific and fully validated LC-MS/MS method as per general practices of industry has been developed for estimation of lacidipine (LAC) with 100 µL of human plasma using lacidipine-(13) C8 as an internal standard (IS). The API-4000 LC-MS/MS was operated under the multiple reaction-monitoring mode. A simple liquid-liquid extraction process was used to extract LAC and IS from human plasma. The total run time was 3.0 min and the elution of LAC and IS occurred at 1.96 and 1.97 min; this was achieved with a mobile phase consisting of 5 mm ammonium acetate buffer-acetontrile (15:85 v/v) at a flow rate of 0.60 mL/min on a Zorbax SB C18 (50 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column. A linear response function was established for the range of concentrations 50-15,000 pg/mL (r > 0.998) for LAC. The current developed method has negligible matrix effect and is free from unwanted adducts and clusters which are formed owing to system such as solvent or mobile phase. The developed assay method was applied to an oral pharmacokinetic study in humans and successfully characterized the pharmacokinetic data up to 72 h.

A well-defined block copolymer serving as surfactants in separation of 1,4-dihydropyridines by open-tubular capillary eletrochromatography.

A novel series of diblock copolymers, poly(butyl methacrylate)(n) -block-poly(glycidyl methacrylate)(m) [P(BMA)(n) -b-P(GMA)(m) ], were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization and developed as covalent coating of capillaries. The excellent performance of this coating in separation of three 1,4-dihydropyridines (DHPs) derivatives (amlodipine, nicardipine, nitrendipine) was achieved when the diblock copolymers self-assembled into micelles, which was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and atom force microscopy. Meanwhile, the effects of block ratio n/m, pH value, buffer concentration, and organic solvents on the separation of 1,4-DHPs were investigated in detail. Then, the relationship between the morphologies of copolymers and the separation resolutions of 1,4-DHPs was discussed. Furthermore, the proposed method exhibited good run-to-run and column-to-column precision with relative standard deviations of electroosmotic flow less than 3.0%. It was also validated with linearity of three 1,4-DHPs in the range of 0.01-1.80 mM (r(2) ≥ 99.7%), efficient recovery (94-103%), and good repeatability (≤ 3.8%). In addition, three 1,4-DHPs were successfully separated in the spiked human serum sample, which indicated the potential utility of this method in biological sample analysis.

Simultaneous determination of lercanidipine, benazepril and benazeprilat in plasma by LC-MS/MS and its application to a toxicokinetics study.

We aim to develop a rapid, simple, sensitive and specific LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantification of lercanidipine, benazepril and benazeprilat in plasma. It is performed on the Agilent 6410 LC-MS/MS under the multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with electrospray ionization. Gliclazide was used as the internal standard (IS). Analytes and IS were extracted from plasma by solid-phase extraction. The reconstituted samples were chromatographed on a Diamond C18(150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column. The mobile phase was composed of 0.1% acetic acid-acetonitrile (50:50, v/v), with gradient flow rates: 0.6 mL/min (0-4.55 min); 4.55-4.65 min, 1 mL/min; 1 mL/min (4.65-9.5 min); 9.5-9.6 min, 0.6 mL/min; 0.6 mL/min (9.6-10 min). Method validation demonstrated that the method was of satisfactory specificity, sensitivity, precision and accuracy in linear ranges of 1-2000 ng/mL for lercanidipine, 1-2000 ng/mL for benazepril and 1-1600 ng/mL for benazeprilat, respectively. The precision (RSD%) was better than 15, and the lower limit of quantitation was identifiable and reproducible at 1 ng/mL for the three analytes. The plasma samples were stable after being stored for more than 60 days and after two freeze-thaw cycles (-20 to -25 °C). It is demonstrated that this method was successfully applied to samples from a toxicokinetics study of a compound of lercanidipine and benazepril in beagle dogs.

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric assay for the light sensitive calcium channel antagonist lacidipine in human plasma.

A novel, rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of calcium channel antagonist lacidipine in human plasma. Carbamazepine was used as an internal standard. Analyte and the internal standard were extracted from human plasma by solid-phase extraction technique. The reconstituted samples were chromatographed on a C(18) column by using a mixture of acetonitrile-ammonium acetate buffer (5 mM) (80:20, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The calibration curve obtained was linear (r(2)≥0.9990) over the concentration range of 0.05-12.5 ng/mL. The multiple reaction-monitoring mode was used for quantification of ion transitions at m/z 456.2/354.2 and 237.1/194.1 for the drug and the internal standard, respectively. The results of the intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy studies were well within the acceptable limits. A run time of 2.2 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 300 plasma samples per day. The proposed method was found to be applicable to clinical studies.